ADB Support for Gender and Development (2005–2015) Supplementary Linked Document E (Country Portfolio Assessment) PAKISTAN1 Objectives 1. The thematic evaluation study aims to assess Asian Development Bank’s (ADB’s) support for gender and development (GAD) by examining (i) the relevance of ADB’s gender and development (GAD) policy and its strategic priorities in promoting gender equity in the region, (ii) the responsiveness of ADB’s country partnership strategies (CPS) and operations to promoting gender equity and women’s empowerment, and (iii) the results of ADB’s operations in realizing gender equity outcomes and targets. The evaluation covers 2005–2015. The country portfolio assessment of Pakistan adopts the same objectives and examines the relevance of ADB’s GAD objectives and strategic priorities to the country context, the responsiveness of the CPS and ADB operations to the gender challenges facing Pakistan, and the results of ADB operations in Pakistan on gender equity. Methodology for the Country Portfolio Assessment 2. The country portfolio assessments utilized an evaluation framework developed by the Independent Evaluation Department (IED)2 to assess the adoption and implementation of ADB’s GAD policy and operational guidelines in the CPS, portfolio, and technical assistance (TA) program to answer the key evaluation questions specified in the Evaluation Approach Paper: How relevant are ADB’s corporate policies and strategies in promoting gender and development in Asia and the Pacific? How responsive are ADB’s country strategies and operations to the existing corporate policies and strategies, and new challenges relating to gender equity? How effective are ADB’s operations in achieving gender equity outcomes and targets? How can ADB improve the delivery of its gender equity agenda? 3. The Pakistan assessment relied on a combination of data collection methods, including (i) desk reviews of all relevant documents, project reports and data; (ii) a country mission3 from 15–27 August 2016 to solicit feedback from counterpart agencies, development partners, and other stakeholders on ADB’s strategy and overall support for gender and development, and more targeted feedback on selected projects with gender mainstreaming or gender equity objectives; (iii) in-country fieldwork involving site visits to two ADB projects, and feedback from beneficiaries and field level implementing personnel to get a first-hand overview of the challenges faced and progress achieved in realizing intended gender outcomes; and (iv) focus group discussions with beneficiaries of two ADB projects. 4. The desk review covered CPSs 2009–2013 and 2015–2019; 2008 country gender assessments (CGAs)4 for 2008 and 2013–2014 CGA5; portfolio analysis and review of project documentation and assessment reports for 2005–2015; and self-assessments or related reports produced by government agencies, implementing agencies, think tanks, and other development partners. This assessment did not repeat the gender diagnostics undertaken by the recent Pakistan CGA. It focused instead on the assistance provided by ADB to promote GAD in Pakistan to assess its relevance, responsiveness, and 1 This assessment was authored by Anis Dani (Consultant). Asian Development Bank Central and West Asia Department’s comments during interdepartmental circulation were considered in finalizing the same. 2 The framework for country portfolio assessments was finalized during a preparatory workshop held at ADB headquarters in June 2016. 3 The country mission to Pakistan was led by Hyun Son, Principal Evaluation Specialist, and included Anis Dani, Country/Gender Specialist, and Alexis Garcia, Research Analyst/Consultant. 4 ADB. 2008. Releasing Women’s Potential Contribution to Inclusive Economic Growth: Country Gender Assessment—Pakistan. Manila. 5 ADB. 2014. Promoting Gender Inclusive Growth in Central and West Asia. PAK: Country Gender Assessment. Manila (prepared in collaboration with the World Bank; Australian Government; Canada Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development; and Islamic Development Bank). 1 ADB Support for Gender and Development (2005–2015) Supplementary Linked Document E (Country Portfolio Assessment) effectiveness. In addition to projects approved during the review period, the assessment also drew on findings from project validation reports (PVR) completed during the review period for projects approved earlier which had significant gender objectives, as they enabled a more complete picture of ADB’s country strategy and assistance for Pakistan. 5. Based on the desk review of the portfolio, the mission selected a set of projects to examine more deeply during the mission. Most of these were gender equity and mainstreaming (GEM) projects from public sector management (PSM) which includes social protection, agriculture, natural resources and rural development sector, health sector, and disaster risk management. In addition, the mission also held discussions with government representatives and development partners on the transport sector, which alone constitutes 18% of the portfolio by number of projects (second to the energy sector which is 26% of the portfolio). Transport has the largest share of projects with some gender elements (SGE). 6. At the operational level, the evaluation team focused on the following projects more intensively during the country mission: Access to Justice Program (2001) Decentralization Support Program (2002) Sustainable Livelihoods in Barani Areas Project (2004) National Highway Development Sector Investment Program, Project 1 (2006), (findings are relevant to the remaining tranches of the multitranche financing facility [MFF], and the National Trade Corridor Highway Investment Program [2014] being implemented by the National Highway Authority) Earthquake-Displaced People Livelihood Assistance Restoration Program (2007) Sindh Coastal Community Development Project (2007) Punjab Millenium Development Goals Program (2008/2010) (2 subprograms) Social Protection Development Project (2013) 7. The field visits were more selective and focused on two projects classified as having gender equity theme (GEN) objectives: the Social Protection Development Project, which is financing the government’s safety net—Benazir Income Support Program (BISP)—and the completed Earthquake-Displaced People Livelihood Assistance Restoration Program. Field visits were carried out in two of the nine districts where these two programs overlapped—Bagh District (Azad Jammu and Kashmir) and Mansehra District (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province). This enabled the team to meet with more than 60 people, including beneficiaries and implementing agency staff, The field visit was also used to pretest the focus group evaluation instrument and to train the two teams of national researchers who were to undertake the focus group discussions (FGDs) subsequent to the mission. The field visit was thus followed by additional FGDs6 with 115 beneficiaries, undertaken by the two teams to provide additional coverage of beneficiaries from each of those districts. I. Country Context 8. Pakistan’s development trajectory has been replete with contradictions and has suffered from several episodes of policy reversals and weak follow-through in implementation. As a result, the country remains a development conundrum. 9. While poverty ratios have declined in Pakistan, human development indicators perform poorly and gender inequality remains pervasive. Pakistan is a lower middle income country with a population of 188 million and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of $1,429 in 2015.7 The poverty headcount ratio at $190 per day (2011 purchasing power parity [PPP]) as a percentage of the population went down 6 The methodology and consolidated district-level findings from the FGDs are attached as Appendix 4 of this report. 7 World Bank. World Development Indicators. http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators 2 ADB Support for Gender and Development (2005–2015) Supplementary Linked Document E (Country Portfolio Assessment) from 28.7% in 2001 to 6.1% in 2013 but the GINI Index grew marginally from 30.4 to 30.7 over the same period.8 The national poverty headcount was redefined in 2016 using a consumption-based model to estimate poverty at 29.5% using the 2013 household income and expenditure survey. Pakistan’s performance on human development lags significantly behind most of its peers9 and, with a ranking of 147 out of 188, it is the only South Asian country other than Afghanistan (ranked 171) classified as having low human development. Performance on human development is further exacerbated by gender disparity in human development indicators. Consequently, Pakistan is ranked poorly on the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) gender development index10 (GDI) where its ratio of 0.726 also lags behind all comparators except for Afghanistan. 10. On UNDP’s gender inequality index (GII), Pakistan lags most South Asian countries too. Pakistan received a score 0.536 on the GII in 2014 and ranked 121 out of 155 countries, ahead only of India (130) and Afghanistan (152) in South Asia. Pakistan’s efforts to foster gender inequality are hindered by slow progress in improving literacy, slow adoption of safe health practices, obstacles to female mobility, and women’s limited access to economic opportunities. Gender parity varies across provinces but there are even vast differences across districts within provinces.11 The impact of these challenges is manifested in the low